Geographical endowment and other tricky phrases for GG4

advantage	Any circumstance, opportunity, or means specially favourable to success, interest, or any desired end. Benefit, gain or profit.
bottom-up approach	A people-centred approach which concentrates on helping people to help themselves. Local people make the decisions about how their locality is managed. Local communities, especially in rural areas, are consulted when governments are planning the best ways to provide such things as food, safe drinking water, shelter, health care and education. [back to top]
centralisation	The concentration of administrative power in a central government or authority. The concentration of control or power in a few individuals.
composite	Made up of disparate or separate parts or elements; compound. The HDI is a composite indicator because it is made up of other simple indicators.
conservation	Prevention of decay, waste, or loss. Official supervision of rivers, forests, and other natural resources in order to preserve and protect them through prudent management. The careful use of natural resources in order to prevent depletion.
conservation of natural resources	Conserving the earth by protecting its capacity for self-renewal. Particularly complex are the problems of non-renewable resources such as oil and other minerals in great demand. Some argue for the protection of entire ecological regions by the creation of "biosphere reserves." The problem of reconciling human use and conservation beyond the boundaries of parks has become another important issue.
contemporary	Of the present time; modern. Existing, occurring, or living at the same time. Of about the same age or date.
core	A core area is one where there is a concentration of economic development. Resources, economic wealth, productivity, labour and political power are centralised in this favoured area (whether a city or a region). A backwash effect helps to create the core at the expense of the periphery. This process has also been called polarisation. Secondary cores form over time as a result of spread effects. [back to top]
deprivation; relative deprivation; deprived	Dispossession, loss. Having to do without what others have. The perception of an unfair disparity between a situation and that of others. Where poverty refers to a lack of the necessities of food and shelter, deprivation refers to a lack of those material things which are considered 'normal' in a particular society.
development	Growth; progress. The relative development of different countries is usually expressed in terms of the HDI (human development index) or other indicators such as literacy or GNP.
development process	Some theorists have argued economic growth occurs in stages and countries pass through these before becoming 'developed'. One example is Rostow's model based on the European and North American experience, where countries reach a 'take-off' phase before becoming 'advanced' nations. The assumption is made that development is progressive. However, the experience of the Asian Tiger Economies suggests economic development may not always move forwards.
differing validity	What is valid is based on or borne out by truth or fact. Different opinions may be valid in differing degrees. That is an argument may not be convincingly proven by the particular case study looked at by a student. One explanation may have greater validity than another because it is more compelling or convincing when the facts are examined.
disparity	Lack of similarity or equality. Inequality or difference. The size of the gap between nations or social groups in development or economic terms.
economic	To produce and distribute income, wealth and commodities (ie for profit).
economic determinism	The doctrine that all social, cultural, political, and intellectual forms are determined by or result from such economic factors as the quality of natural resources, productive capability, technological development, or the distribution of wealth.
economic geography	A branch of geography that deals with the relation of physical and economic conditions to the production and use of raw materials, manufactured products and services.
endowment	Can refer to property or funds with which an institution or person is 'endowed'. Can also be an attribute of mind or body (a gift of nature). See geographical endowment. [back to top]
endowment approach to famine	The owned assets and personal capacities which an individual or household can use to establish entitlement to food. Approach suggested by Amartya Sen in his 1981 book Poverty and Famine (OUP). 'Entitlement' focuses on the relationships through which people gain command or entitlement over food (a peasant with a small amount of land can grow his own food or grow cash crops and trade or sell his labour for a wage).
environment	Surrounding things, conditions, or influences (milieu). The external factors surrounding and affecting a given organism at any time. The social and cultural forces that shape the life of a person or a population.
external	The outside or outer part. Situated or being outside something; acting or coming from without. Concerned with foreign countries.
external factors	Factors beyond the control of the administration of the area being looked at. Coming from the outside (external pressures). Of or relating to other 'foreign' countries (external affairs).
formative events	Events or definable happenings at an early stage in development, subsequently found to be important to later growth or patterns of change. Events subject to transformation by growth and development.
freedom	The state of being free or at liberty rather than in confinement or under physical restraint. It can also mean exemption from external control, interference and regulation, so that people are able to act without restraint. It means people are able to say what they think and do as they wish and can enjoy the same privileges and rights as the rest of their community. People are able to make their own choices and decisions.
gap	A wide divergence or difference; disparity. The development gap between groups of LEDCs and MEDCs may refer to rankings of measures such as GNP or HDI, but increasingly can mean a technological gap.
gender	In a linguistic context, the most familiar sets of genders are of three classes (as masculine, feminine, and neuter in Latin and German). In English a few words retain gender inflection (eg actress). However, references to gender or more correctly 'gender issues' are normally concerned with social relations between the sexes and the historically perceived weakness or inferiority of the female in a patriarchal society (ie one where decision-making and power is male dominated). [back to top]
geographical endowment	Endowment can mean "natural capacity, power, or ability", so a geographical endowment is what natural capacity a place may have as a result of its geography (location and physical environment). In some cases it could also be applied to human geography characteristics too. See also endowment (endowment approach to famine).
Gini coefficient	A numerical calculation used to express degree of concentration of a distribution of an activity within a given area (ie a way of expressing quantitatively the Lorenz curve).
growth poles	Expanding industries concentrated in a particular area (a type of secondary core). They set off a chain reaction of minor expansions throughout the hinterland of the concentration (the area from which the core draws). Growth poles are an important part of regional regeneration strategies. One or more growth poles are selected within a depressed region and new investment is concentrated on them. The intention is that growth will become self generating (migrants, entrepreneurs and capital will move in). This is thought to be more effective than spreading investment thinly across a depressed area.
historical	Of history or past events. Belonging to the past. An analysis based on a comparison among several periods of development.
human suffering	See suffer; suffering.
indicator	An instrument that indicates the condition of something. Something which displays the existence of certain conditions. The most commonly used economic indicator for countries is GNP (gross national product) although the UN now uses the HDI (human development index).
indigenous	Originating in and characteristic of a particular region or country; native. A group or community of people with a distinctive culture and identity which predates the arrival of the now dominant culture. Their values and beliefs may come into conflict with those of incoming groups who may have very different approaches to, in particular, property ownership.
inequality	Lack of equality; disparity, such as between the rich and the poor. Injustice. Unevenness. Any part of a departure from uniformity.[back to top]
infrastructure	The basic, underlying framework or features of a system or organisation. The facilities and systems serving a country, city, or area, as transportation and communication systems, power plants, and schools.
internal	The inside or inner part. Found within the limits or scope of something. The domestic affairs of a country (internal politics of a nation).
internal factors	Factors within the control of an administration of the area being looked at. Decision-makers have control. Concerning domestic issues or policies or government.
investment	Putting in money or capital in order to gain profitable returns, as interest, income, or appreciation in value. Devoting, using or giving time, talent and emotional energy.
leading indicators	Data that reflect current economic conditions and can suggest future developments or fluctuations in a nation's economy. [back to top]
Lorenz curve	A graph used to show inequalities in distributions over a given area. Usually used for population and employment distributions. The straight diagonal line represents a perfectly even distribution. The curve shows the level of concentration (the larger the area between diagonal and curve the greater the concentration). The Gini coefficient is used to express this quantitatively.
natural	Existing in or formed by nature (opposed to the artificial product of human activity). In a state of nature (uncultivated land). Growing spontaneously, without being planted or tended by humans (vegetation). Having undergone little or no processing.
natural resources	The natural wealth of a country, consisting mainly of land, forests, mineral deposits and water.
original stimuli	The starting point or source which causes a response. In development terms, the starting point of subsequent growth or progress. The resource base or technological shift which made subsequent economic growth possible.
overheat	To heat, excite or agitate to excess. In an economic context usually refers to processes which would normally be beneficial, but which are now out of control and proving detrimental to the economy. In an urban context can result in an inability to respond to an expanding population's basic needs (eg transport, housing, service distribution, employment).
periphery	Anywhere that is not part of the core may be termed the periphery. However, in the geography of development a periphery is usually an area of low or declining economic development. It is usually used for a region suffering from high unemployment, outmigration and low living standards. The resource base may be poor or deteriorating. At a national scale, the ‘periphery’ becomes subdivided into regions each with its own metropolitan core and periphery.
political	Concerned with state, government or public affairs, or status and authority within an organisation (ie about power).
political refugee	A person who has fled from a homeland because of political persecution.
power	Ability to do or act; capability of doing or accomplishing something. Strength, might or force. The possession of control or command over others. Authority granted to a person or persons in a particular office or capacity (a president or prime minister). "The powers that be" - those in supreme command.
power structure	System of authority or influence in government, politics and education.
progress	To go forward. A movement towards a goal or to a further or higher stage. Developmental activity in science or technology or to the promotion of the material well-being through the goods, techniques, or facilities created. Advancement in general. Continuous improvement.
qualitative	Concerned with quality or qualities. Not usually easily measured in an objective way. Likely to be based on personal opinion, rather than being a matter of objective fact.
quantitative	Estimated by quantity. Can be accurately and objectively measured. Relating to the analysis of accurately measured data. Accurately measurable in a numerical form.
quantitative analysis	Analysis to determine the amounts and proportions of constituents. The use of computerised mathematical analysis to support decision making, make forecasts or recommendations.
security	Freedom from danger or risk, care, anxiety or doubt; well-founded confidence. It can mean protection from financial worries or from want (guarantee). [back to top]
simple	Easy to understand, deal with and use. Not complicated, complex or compound; single. Occurring or considered alone.
social	Concerned with human beings living in organised communities (ie about people).
social advantage	Where an individual or group of people within a community have discernible advantages in terms of wealth or access to resources or services (eg education, health).
social dynamics	The study of social change.
social environment	The environment developed by people as contrasted with the natural environment; society as a whole, especially in its relation to an individual.
spatial inequalities	Usually concerns the unequal distribution of wealth or resources over an area. Core/periphery models attempt to conceptualise patterns which are unequal (the rich developed core with the poor or underdeveloped periphery).
spatial patterns	Concerns distributions over an area.
strategy	Planning and directing complex operations. A plan, method, or series of manoeuvres to obtain a specific goal or result. Strategist - an expert in strategy (esp. warfare).
structure	A construction, or organisation, arrangement of parts, elements, or constituents. A complex system considered from the point of view of the whole rather than of any single part. Anything composed of parts arranged together in some way (an organisation). The manner in which parts are joined to each other in a whole. [back to top]
suffer; suffering	To undergo or feel pain or distress as a person or a group of people (eg the sufferings of the slaves). To sustain injury, disadvantage, or loss.
sustainable development	Sustainable development constitutes an integrated wholeness, where no action is separate. Sustainable development can be considered an integral, cultural, economic, social, political, territorial and philosophical process.
technological	Relating to science and industry. The application of new equipment or systems leading to advances in production methods.
top-down approach	Governments make decisions about the development of regions without involving local people. These policies tend to concentrate on investment in industry in urban areas, based on the theory that economic growth will spread from these large centres to smaller ones. The authorities hope that by concentrating on a few growth poles economic growth and increased wealth will spread into surrounding areas. Good transport links are an important part of this strategy. Governments may also designate growth corridors or axes to encourage industrial investment. Corridors are usually along major roads (or other transport links) providing good access and connecting urban centres. [back to top]

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